


Problems

by Kentigerna_7



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, China Line Are Siblings Minus Lucas, Domestic Wizard life, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan-centric, M/M, Mark Lee (NCT)-centric, Metamorphmagus Lee Donghyuck | Haechan, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Some members may also be mentioned, not sure yet - Freeform, takes place after the battle of hogwarts, there might be angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2019-07-19
Packaged: 2019-08-11 04:10:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16468445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kentigerna_7/pseuds/Kentigerna_7
Summary: Lee Donghyuk didn’t have many problems. He was a healthy fifteen year old Slytherin boy about to enter his fifth year at Hogwarts, and was pretty confident in all of his classes. (Except "A History of Magic", but it’s not his fault Professor Bins has a knack for putting him to sleep, therefore not his fault that he doesn’t learn anything). He had taken a liking to Divination, Astronomy, and Potions the previous year and had excelled quite a bit in them.(And ,no. It had nothing to do with the fact that two of the professors were Slytherins). And to top it all off, he’s also the seeker of his house's Quidditch team. (In your face, Jaemin!). So, yeah, Lee Donghyuck didn’t really have very many problems, and his life was fairly simple. Well, school life, at least.What Donghyuk did have a problem with,(Or should he say who), was his best friend, Mark Lee.(Or Mark and Donghyuck are forced to be together again after years of separation and form a somewhat interesting bond that, with time, blossoms into a what can only be described as a strong relationship.)[P.S I'll try to post on weekends as much as possible maybe even before that, but I'll try to post as regularly as I can.]





	1. Problems? Never Heard of Him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check end notes to see what house every member is in and year. I don't know who is gonna be in the story but it might not be everyone so. Only listing members I know are going to be at least mentioned. Just a warning. 
> 
> Just re-edited it. If you've read it please reread it. I realized a had a lot of spelling mistakes.

Lee Donghyuk didn’t have many problems. He was a healthy fifteen- year old Slytherin boy about to enter his fifth year at Hogwarts and was pretty confident in all of his classes. (Except "A History of Magic", but it’s not his fault Professor Bins has a knack for putting him to sleep, therefore not his fault that he doesn’t learn anything). He had taken a liking to Divination, Astronomy, and Potions the previous year and had excelled quite a bit in them. (And, no. It had nothing to do with the fact that two of the professors were Slytherins). And to top it all off, he’s also the seeker of his house's Quidditch team. (In your face, Jaemin!). So, yeah, Lee Donghyuck didn’t really have very many problems, and his life was fairly simple. Well, school life, at least.

What Donghyuk did have a problem with,(or should he say who), was his best friend, Mark Lee. Ex-best friend, technically. Before Donghyuk and Mark had been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, they had been childhood best friends. They had grown up in the same Muggle neighborhood and had done almost everything together. Unfortunately, when Donghyuck was nine Mark moved to the next town over. They had known each other since birth and had never really been apart, being born into a magic family in a Muggle neighborhood is really hard, so having Mark there was always a relief. That's why Donghyuck had been so sad when Mark had moved away. They had planned on keeping in touch via owl but after a while they just kind of… gave up. Donghyuck had tried his hardest to religiously send Mark owls, but there would be vast delays between the time he sent a letter and the time he would get a response. Sometimes it’d take weeks, even months to get anything back. Donghyuck guessed that Mark was just too busy to talk to him anymore, so… he just kinda... stopped trying. Mark hadn't sent him any more letters after that or reached out to him in any other way, so it seemed that cutting ties was for the best.

By the time Donghyuck had finally gotten to Hogwarts, Mark was already a second year. When Donghyuck saw him sitting at the Gryffindor table next to his older brother, Johnny, who had been a third year at the time, Donghyuck felt a deep ache in his chest. He honestly didn't know why. He hadn’t been expecting anything different from his slightly older friend. Mark came from a pure-blood family made up mainly of Gryffindors, so it really wasn’t that big of a shocker when he'd been sorted into the lion’s house. Donghyuck, on the other hand, was quite the contrary. Donghyuck came from a half-blood family who, despite their blood status, were mainly Slytherins. So it had also been unsurprising that Donghyuck got sorted into serpant's house. Although, Donghyuck was sure his witty and impish behaviors were also contributing factors towards him being the Slytherin he is today.

When Donghyuck was sorted into Slytherin that day, he knew that any hope of reigniting his friendship with Mark was futile. Even though Donghyuck didn’t really believe in the whole “Gryffindor vs. Slytherin” trope, he sometimes wondered if it was a sign that their friendship was bound to end one day, and that he should be thankful it had happened sooner than later. Yet Donghyuck knew that that wasn’t actually the reason he and Mark hadn’t reunited when Donghyuck started school. Donghyuck knew that it was because they were in different houses and in different years, so their paths never crossed. They officially had different lives that didn't include one another. He thinks that he saw Mark about ten times a year on average. You can't be friends with someone you don't even talk too, it's like talking to a wall and expecting a response. Pointless.

Donghyuck has been hung up over his ex-best friend ever since he was eleven, and he's just about ready to forget Mark even exists. And he was determined to do just that this year. He hasn't even seen the guy except for a few brief smiles exchanged in the halls every now and then, so he can’t imagine it being that hard.

Now that you're all caught up, fast forward a bit to the beginning of fifth year, where Donghyuck is currently on his way to Hogwarts, eating Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans by the handful while sitting upside down on the bench in the compartment that he and two of his Slytherin friends(Park Jisung and Na Jaemin) and one of his Ravenclaw friends(Huang Renjun) have taken residence in. Now Donghyuck may be a smart kid, but no one ever said anything about him having common sense. He's got friends for that.

“You're going to choke and die on those, and then I’m going to laugh about it,” Renjun commented, adjusting the round spectacles on his face so they rested on his nose more comfortably. Donghyuck glared at the Ravenclaw as best he could being upside down and settles on the most effective, albeit immature, display of dissent he could think of, and promptly sticks his tongue out. He knew it must've looked disgusting, remnants of the candy shells from the beans on his tongue, speckling the now brown surface that had been stained that way from the mixture of food coloring. It probably made it look more like a moldy piece of meat than a tongue. But it was so worth it to see Renjun's nose wrinkle in disgust at Donghyuck's antics. And, as if to further his point, Donghyuck shoved another handful of the beans into his mouth, only making a small face at the taste of bubblegum and vomit mixing together.

“Come on, Hyuckie,” Jaemin says from where his head is resting in the crook of Rejun’s neck, “Injunnie’s right, you are going to choke, and when you do, I’m not even gonna try and help you.” Donghyuck gasps or tries to, at Jaemin’s statement. Jaemin’s supposed to be on his side, he’s known him for way longer.

Donghyuck and Jaemin had met on the first day of their first year at Hogwarts. They were heading to the common room for the first time when Jaemin came skipping up to him. The boy had smiled his brightest smile and said something along the lines of, “Hi, I’m Na Jaemin. I’m in Slytherin, too. What’s your name?” (It was kind of generic and cheesy but, whatever, c'est la vie.) That's how their friendship had started. Sort of. Donghyuck hadn’t really liked Jaemin at first. He had too much energy and smiled so much Donghyuck thought his face would get stuck like that. (And this was coming from Donghyuck, resident full sun), but after two weeks of trying to ignore Jaemin, Donghyuck decided that having an annoying friend was better than having no friend. Especially when it came to being in a new and foreign environment. After a while, their friendship grew more genuine, and they became pretty close. Donghyuck found they had a lot of things in common as well. They both loved playing pranks on people and enjoyed a lot of the same classes. They also loved Quidditch. They even got into a small fight over the fact that Donghyuck beat Jaemin at winning the position of Seeker on the house team in second year. They got over it pretty quickly, though. Jaemin does a much better job as a Chaser than he would have as a Seeker anyway. Jaemin was the closest thing Donghyuck could get to a best friend. After Mark, the title only brings back bad memories and leaves a sour taste in his mouth. This leaves Donghyuck forcing it away to go die in a hole somewhere so deep it hopefully wouldn't be able to resurface. Donghyuck really doesn't what he'd do if it did.

They had met Renjun later. About halfway through third year Jaemin (literally) ran into the short Ravenclaw while running up the stairs to get to the Divination room. He and Jaemin had made a bet that the last one up the tower would have to buy the other whatever he wanted from Hogsmeade the next weekend. Jaemin being Jaemin, readily agreed. Donghyuck hadn’t been there to see the collision, but when Jaemin came up to the Divination room with a dumb grin spread wide on his face, Donghyuck should’ve known better than to ask about it. For the rest of the year Donghyuck was the victim to story after story about the smaller male and how "cute" and "timid" he was, and “You should’ve seen how he hid in his scarf after, and the little smile he gave me, like, I think my heart stopped beating for a second, Hyuck.” Donghyuck may have won the race that day, but he didn't think Jaemin had really cared all that much.

A year later, Renjun and Jaemin had finally started dating. Donghyuck would've rather taken to cleaning the trophy room the Muggle way every day than sit in the same room as those two for longer than necessary. The googly eyes they had made at each other had been bad enough, but the tension had been unbearable(not that it was much better now, anyway). Donghyuck had become Renjun's friend by default since he was dating Donghyuck's friend. Not that he minded much, it was much easier to create friendly banter with Renjun than it was with Jaemin, the latter being too nice for his own good. He had learned a lot about the Ravenclaw since he became a part of their group. Like, contrary to the way Jaemin had described Renjun to him, the smaller male was quite feisty and sarcastic(Which was what made him such a fun person to argue with). Donghyuck had also learned that Renjun had a short temper and not to get on his bad side lest he wanted to get put into a headlock. Sometimes, though, Donghyuck just couldn't resist annoying his friend, it was too much fun.

Donghyuck was shaken out of his reverie when their train car jolted a bit more violently than usual and was reminded of his current position- face to face with the two sorry excuses he, unfortunately, calls his friends. Despite how he reacted, Donghyuck knew that Jaemin would side with his boyfriend, but Donghyuck had decided to be dramatic as always and was now paying dearly for his troubles.

He had just managed to swallow the beans in his mouth before the coughing fit started. The (absolutely necessary) gasp had caused him to choke, and in his moment of panic, he had forgotten that he was sitting upside down. One of his hands unconsciously flew to his throat throwing him off balance and causing him to fall for his efforts. He Landed head first, the rest of his body followed so that he was lying awkwardly on his back. He vaguely registered Jaemin and Renjun laughing at his stupidity in the background as he was too occupied with trying to catch his breath. Donghyuck sat up on his elbows, one of his hands rubbing at where his head hit the floor.

Only when the doors to the compartment opened did Donghyuck realize his current predicament. He was sitting in the small space between the two benches on the floor of the compartment, his clothes all rumpled and face flushed from all the blood that had rushed to his head from being upside down, and there were Every Flavor Beans scattered all around him from when he fell. Now normally this wouldn't have been an issue, Donghyuck was used to making a fool of himself in front of strangers and had become almost immune to public embarrassment. But it became a very big deal when Donghyuck realized who the person who had opened the door to their compartment was. He could tell Renjun and Jaemin did too, judging by the way they were no longer laughing, leaving an awkward silence to fall over the compartment. Although, this person tended to have that kind of effect on a place. He was such a mood-killer.

Said mood-killer was none other than the Head Boy of Slytherin himself, Ten. (I know, dumb name, right?). Ten was a seventh year, therefore Donghyuck's "superior". Ten was short, shorter than Donghyuck anyway, and had short fluffy, brown hair to match. He had way too many ear piercings, and an ego twice the size of his stature. It was a well-known fact among the Slytherin students that Ten hated his guts. In return, Donghyuck had resolutely decided to never, EVER show any signs of weakness in front of the other male. Donghyuck was happy to report that the hatred between the two of them was very, very mutual.

Donghyuck had first met Ten when he was a first year. Ten was a third year at the time, but that hasn't stopped him from acting like he owned the place. Donghyuck had known he wouldn’t like the other Slytherin from the moment he first laid eyes on him. The fake smiles and condescending aura the guy carried with him everywhere was enough to make Donghyuck never want to take the guy seriously. It was also obvious to Donghyuck that Ten was a major suck up. Donghyuck could tell by the way he held himself alone(He was very perceptive like that). In Donghyuck's opinion, the only thing that would make it even more obvious was if you wrote ass-kisser on his forehead in bright red ink. All of the assumptions Donghyuck had made about the guy when he had first met him have all proven to be accurate at least once over the years Donghyuck has had to put up with him. In addition to the Head Boy's shitty personality, Donghyuck also strongly disliked the other boy's name. Donghyuck new that 'Ten' was a nickname, he wasn't stupid. He also knew that people called him that because no one could actually pronounce his real name. However, that doesn't change the fact it was the stupidest thing Donghyuck had ever heard. Donghyuck was aware that his distaste toward the other male's name was probably amplified by his hatred toward's the guy's general existence, but he can't help it, the guy was impossible. 

Donghyuck, however, actually liked something about Ten. Not actually Ten himself, but a fact about him. It was something that he was able to use in this specific category of "Reasons Why I Hate Ten." It was not that the male's nickname was a dumb number, but is, in fact, that he's pretty sure he recalls hearing the word "porn" in the guy's real name when it was said aloud once. What a perfect name for such a vile creature. He knows that sounds petty af, but Donghyuck does have a very legitim, a very "valid" list of reason to hate the Head Boy. Just to name a few: First, he would like to point out that the Head Boy(Devil) had ruined hundreds of Donghyuck’s pranks. Second, he's confiscated Donghyuck's WWW supplies on more than one occasion. And, third, he had almost killed his pygmy puff, Hugo. Ten had sworn it was an accident. Donghyuck calls bullshit. No one gets away with messing with his pygmy puff. No one.

Ten's offenses towards Donghyuck will forever be relevant in the younger Slytherin's eyes, but at the moment Donghyuck was forced to acknowledge that, that was then, and this was now, and now was equivalent to Donghyuck still sitting on the floor surrounded by colorful jelly beans looking like a complete idiot. Donghyuck took a deep breath before looking up at Ten through his eyelashes, putting on the best fake smile he could manage while trying to ignore the fact that he had just broken his number one rule, and said in his sweetest voice, “Yes?” He dragged the word out and emphasizing the mocking tone with a flutter of his eyelashes. He hears Jaemin snort next to him. Ten’s face narrows into a glare, cheeks coloring slightly in annoyance. Donghyuck could already see his patience thinning even though he'd just arrived at the compartment. Donghyuck’s lips twitched just enough so that his (fake) sweet smile becomes more of a smirk than a smile.

But Ten was not one to play games. “Change into your robes. Now.” Ten said, shortly. (Straight to the point, as always.) He'd said the words harshly, each one dripping with venom to show his distaste towards the younger Slytherin as if his very existence made him sick.

Donghyuck nodded, and since he can never seem to help himself, he spreads his arms wide in a fake curtsy and says in the most sarcastic tone he could manage, "Yes, your highness." Jaemin started laughing fully at that one, and Donghyuck even managed to pull a few snickers from the Ravenclaw sitting beside him. The laughter had successfully broken the tense atmosphere but had also successfully caught Ten's attention. Ten’s gaze snapped to them. “You too,” he added harshly, face even redder than before. He redirected his gaze back to Donghyuck. A bitter smile found a home on Ten's lips as he said, "You should watch what you say to me brat, I can make your life a living hell," his eyes flickered to Donghyuck's head and he snorted, "Nice hair, by the way," his eyes flicked up again before he said, "Biddy." Then he slammed the door to their compartment shut. Donghyuck released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding before his hands shot to the top of his head.

Something else one should know about Lee Donghyuck was that he was a Metamorphmagus. The only one in his year, actually. Donghyuck was very proud of his status as the resident Metamorphmagus, but he also kind of hated it too. Being a Metamorphmagus meant that he could change his appearance at will. Donghyuck usually stuck to experimenting with different hair and eye colors to see which ones he liked best, but that wasn't all he could do. His ability to change the way he looked ranged anywhere from the simple change of eye color to giving himself a real, full functioning duckbill. Donghyuck however, didn't have full control over his ability, so sometimes, depending upon how he was feeling, his hair color would change to match the emotion. This sucked because it made it easy for people to read him. Especially if they knew what the different colors signify.

When Donghyuck first got on the Hogwarts Express that morning he had decided that he'd wanted his hair to be a dusky pinkish- purple and his eyes to be a light golden, brown. Unfortunately, Donghyuck had a feeling he no longer looked like that from Ten's comment. He also had a feeling he knew just what color his hair had decided to turn. Carefully, he lifted his bangs up just enough so that he could see their color a little more clearly. He sighed, his hunch had been, unfortunately, correct. His once dusky locks were now a shocking shade of white. White as snow to be exact, for that was the color that represented a phantom pain, or in Donghyuck's case, a head bump.

"Ha-ha, very funny," he muttered to himself bitterly. Donghyuck finally stood up and cracked his back before slumping down onto the bench opposite his friends. As much as he hates to admit it, Ten’s reminder actually did help him quite a bit. If he hadn’t come to their compartment, then Donghyuck is sure that he would be throwing his robes on at the last moment and doing the buttons up wrong. He directs his gaze to his hair, watching as it changed from white to a royal blue color with neon blue highlights. Annoyance, despair, and a hint of don't test me. Donghyuck sighs, wiggling in his seat, suddenly tired. It was going to be a long year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Johnny- Gryffindor, 7th year  
> Yuta- Slytherin, 7th year  
> Kun- Ravenclaw, 7th year  
> Ten- Slytherin, 7th year  
> WinWin- Hufflepuff, 6th year  
> Jungwoo- Gryffindor, 6th year  
> Lucas- Gryffindor, 6th year  
> Mark- Gryffindor, 6th year  
> Renjun- Ravenclaw, 5th year  
> Jeno- Gryffindor, 5th year  
> Haechan- Slytherin, 5th year  
> Jaemin- Slytherin, 5th year  
> Chenle- Gryffindor, 4th year  
> Jisung- Slytherin, 3rd year
> 
> P.S- I don't dislike Ten, just using him for some character diversity.  
> Please leave a comment and kudos if it was good, I'd love to know. Thank you!!!!!!!!


	2. Same, Same, Same, Change- WAIT! CHANGE?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donghyuck finally arrives at Hogwarts and all he wants to do is eat and go to sleep. He doesn't expect this year to be all that different from the last, so he's doesn't have anything to worry about. At least that's what he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, new chapter. Would've had one out yesterday, but it was Halloween, so. Yeah. But a hope you enjoy this chapter, as much as you guys did the last one. Which I wanted to thank everyone who left comments and kudos on my work. Thank you. 
> 
> P.S- I did double check for grammar and spelling mistakes so I'm sorry if I missed one.

Donghyuck is just about fed up with getting pushed around. 

Excited students flitted all around him as they pushed their way through the crowd to get to the Great Hall. Don’t get him wrong, Donghyuck was ecstatic, and he loved the start of the year feast. However, what Donghyuck loved even more than the start of the year feast was personal space, which was almost nonexistent at the moment. 

“Hey,” he snapped at the second year Ravenclaw that had just stepped on his foot, “Watch where you’re going!” And was promptly slapped on the back of the head.

“Be nice,” Renjun chided. Then he turned to Jaemin and his eyes softened, “Well I’ve got to go, so… I’ll see you later.” The Ravenclaw rocked back and forth on his heels, his eyes directed at the floor. Jaemin grinned at his boyfriend, replying with a playful, “Absolutely,” before planting a soft kiss on Renjun’s cheek. Renjun blushed at the display of affection. It was disgustingly sweet. Donghyuck couldn't help but gag. Renjun took one weak swipe at Donghyuck before heading towards the Ravenclaw table. Jaemin and Donghyuck mimicked him but headed in the direction of the Slytherin table instead. Donghyuck sat down at his usual spot at the big table, Jaemin taking his place at Donghyuck’s right. 

After a moment of silence, Donghyuck turned his attention to the stunning piece of furniture in front of him. The table was made out of an enormous slab of old, dark wood. It was thick; and when Donghyuck rubbed his hand over it, he felt the grains that made up the swirling patterns on its surface. Placed over the top of the vast piece of furniture was an even more vast piece of cloth. A wide, dark green table runner, that ended in points to mimic that of a flag, contrasted starkly with the dark wood underneath it. The piece of fabric was decorated with little silver tousles (that Miss Norris loved to play with). Each end of the table runner was decorated with silver snakes to match. Their fangs glinted dangerously as the body gleamed proudly in the faint light of the great hall.

Set up on top of the dark green fabric was a plethora of different dishes. Silver bowls and plates of all sizes that were so shiny they reflected the students' faces. Candles had also been spread out amongst the dishes strategically to match the ones floating above their heads. And at every seat, there was a silver plate and goblet carved with intricate designs paired with a set of silver cutlery to match. The plates were a tease, but also held the promise of food in the near future. Donghyuck didn’t have to look around the Great Hall to know that the other tables were set up in a similar fashion.

Donghyuck stared wistfully at the empty plate in front of him, his stomach growling in protest. 'Should’ve eaten more on the train,' he thought. He turned to Jaemin and whined, “Why didn’t you remind me that a lifetime would pass before we got to eat again.” Jaemin didn’t seem to be paying any attention to him, though, too busy staring at the Gryffindor table, or, more specifically, the Gryffindor keeper, Lee Jeno. He poked Jaemin on the cheek. “Huh,” Jaemin said, the spell Jeno had put over him breaking. 

Donghyuck knows it probably sounds bad, that Jaemin’s staring longingly at someone who is most definitely not his boyfriend, but you’d been wrong if you said that Jaemin is suffering from inner emotional turmoil over who he actually loves. You see, Jaemin’s more than head over heels in love with Renjun, this much is obvious. Just like it’s obvious that Renjun reciprocates the feelings wholeheartedly. What with the way that Renjun stares at Jaemin like he hung all the stars in the sky, you couldn't really miss it. However, what was even more obvious is that both Renjun and Jaemin have huge crushes on Jeno. Donghyuck knows that if he looked over at the Ravenclaw table right now, he’d find Renjun staring at the younger Gryffindor the same way Jaemin was. It doesn’t mean they love each other any less, it just means that they have so much love, that they are able to extend it to a third party. It’s been about a couple of months since they explained it to Donghyuck, so he’s used to it at this point, but that doesn’t mean he appreciates his closest friend ignoring him in favor of being a lovesick puppy.

“Jaemin,” Donghyuck whined. He wanted his friend’s attention. “What,” Jaemin said back in a mocking tone. Donghyuck pouted. Honestly, the nerve of this kid. Donghyuck has been nothing but good to him, and this is what he gets in return. Rude. Donghyuck continued to whine some more about how he was hungry and needed food, and once he finished his speech on how hunger was such a terrible state of being and it needs to be abolished ASAP, he was about to start lecturing (read: complaining) about how he needed his Jaemin time. Donghyuck also pointed out how Jaemin had been neglecting him in favor of Renjun time and was ready to lecture Jaemin on how important Donghyuck time was when a body sat down heavily on Donghyck’s left.

“Oh, Hey Sungie,” Jaemin said, leaning over Donghyuck to ruffle the blonde boy’s hair. Jisung groaned and pouted at Jaemin because he touched his hair and whining about how, “Minnie, you promised you’d stop doing that.” Donghyuck just rolled his eyes at the younger. Jisung was the other Slytherin in the compartment with them on the train, at least he was originally. He had disappeared about thirty minutes before Ten had shown up to get them all some pumpkin juice from the trolley witch. He just now realized that Jisung had never come back to their compartment. 

Donghyuck took in Jisung’s appearance and noticed how relaxed the younger seemed and observed the light blush on his cheeks. Jisung wasn’t glaring at Jaemin like he usually did when Jaemin babied him, in fact, Jisung wasn’t glaring at all. Jisung wasn’t even looking at them anymore. Donghyuck redirected his line of vision to match up with Jisung’s and smirked as he found the cause of his younger friend’s good mood. 

Huang Chenle. Chenle was a fourth year Hufflepuff and Jisung’s best friend. But not only is Chenle Jisung’s best friend, but he’s also Renjun’s little brother. Renjun actually has three brothers at Hogwarts: Chenle (obviously); Sicheng who’s also a Hufflepuff but in his sixth year, and Kun who, like Renjun, is a Ravenclaw, but is in his last year at Hogwarts. Renjun was actually how Donghyuck was properly introduced to Jisung. Despite the younger being a chaser on the house team along with Jaemin, Donghyuck had never really talked to the third year much outside of a few quick words exchanged on the Quidditch pitch during a game. They met properly for the first time at Christmas during fourth year.

Renjun’s family was hosting a small get together over the holiday break, and each one of the Haung children was allowed to bring friends home to celebrate with. Of course, Renjun invited Jaemin and since Jaemin was going that meant Donghyuck was going too. They were a 2 for 1 deal, sorry. Sicheng invited his boyfriend Yuta, who’s also a Slytherin, currently in his seventh year, and Kun invited Johnny who brought his boyfriend, Ten (ugh), along with him. (That had been a very interesting get-together. Donghyuck hadn’t really talked to Johnny since Mark had moved away because Johnny being Mark’s brother had moved away with him. And it’s no secret that he and Ten HATE each other, so, yeah. But the eldest teenagers kept mainly to themselves during their time at the Huang’s place. Donghyuck couldn’t stop himself from pitying Renjun’s oldest brother, who was stuck with Ten for a whole week. Poor Kun.) 

When Donghyuck first saw the youngest of the Huang family and his friend together he honestly thought that they were dating. The two boys had been piled on top of one another and were laughing loudly as they play wrestled. Yes, that was normal for close friends, but that’s not what had surprised Donghyuck. Donghyuck had been taken aback by the fond look in their eyes as they looked at each other. It had felt oddly intimate. Though, Donghyuck had quickly learned that even though the two boys weren’t dating, Jisung did have a giganto crush on Chenle. It was actually really cute. Seeing Jisung, who had only been a second year at the time, flush whenever his hand bumped into Chenle’s at the dinner table. Donghyuck doesn’t think he’s ever squealed internally as many times as he had that night. On top of that, Jisung’s crush became even more adorable when he found out that Chenle was a year above him. Age gaps make every relationship that much more interesting. Donghyuck had been kind enough not to tease the younger about his crush at the time, they were still pretty much strangers after all, but now Donghyuck was more acquainted with Jisung than he had been. So in favor of scolding Jisung for leaving him in the compartment on the train with two idiots who only laugh at his troubles, he instead, goes for catching up on the year’s worth of teasing he missed out on.

“Jisung,” he said. Donghyuck didn’t even have to fake a grin, finding pure joy while thinking about torturing the boy next to him. Jisung turned to look at Donghyuck, the small peaceful smile still on his face as he made eye contact with his older friend. However, Jisung’s face quickly lost color at the mischievous twinkle in Donghyuck’s eyes, and his expression morphed from one full of curiosity to one full of dread. Donghyuck’s smirk grew wider at the change in Jisung’s demeanor. Time to pounce.

“Sungie,” Donghyuck singsonged, leaning closer to the boy like he was telling the younger a secret, wrapping an arm around the younger's shoulders, “I couldn’t help but notice that you never came back to our train compartment. I wonder what you could have been doing that had taken you so long? Were you with Lele, hmm. Wait, you guys weren't flirting were you?” Donghyuck punctuating his sentence with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows. Jisung’s face started to turn pink and his eyes widened. Donghyuck took that as the go-ahead to “jump to conclusions” and continue his taunting. “How would Renjun react if he found out you were hitting on his baby brother?” Donghyuck pretended to be scandalized by the “sudden” idea and leaned back dramatically with his mouth hanging open in shock, hands over his heart. It wasn’t the best he could do, but it did the trick.

Jisung gaped at him, face turning a color that could rival that of a tomato, eyes widening further. Jisung spluttered, “ I wouldn’t- I could never …. You know I wasn’t. I didn’t mean- “ he breathed heavily then said, “Hyuck!!!” Jisung hid his face in his hands, completely and totally embarrassed. For someone who was such a mastermind when it came to helping Donghyuck with his pranks, Jisung was still so, so young, so naive, and so, so innocent. Well- not innocent, but young and naive nonetheless.

Donghyuck turned away from Jisung snickering, more than satisfied with the results of his teasing. He looked over at Jaemin and received one hell of a "bitch-mom" glare from the other. He knew that meant that Jaemin probably won’t talk to him for the rest of the night, Jisung was his baby after all (hence the mom glare). Donghyuck shrugged, unbothered. Worth it.

The sound of clinking drew Donghyuck's attention to the front of the hall. “Excuse me,” a voice echoed across the Great Hall causing the last bit of chatter to cease. “Thank you,” said the headmistress. Professor McGonagall had been the Transfiguration teacher before getting assigned Headmistress after the war against Voldemort. Donghyuck had only been nine at the time the final battle took place, but he knew it was bad from what some of the seventh years had said. It was well known that Professor McGonagall was a tough cookie and living up to the expectations every Gryffindor faces. But it is also well known that she had a soft spot for her students. She was the second best head- anything Hogwarts has ever seen, right after Albus Dumbledore, of course.

“I’m happy to see so many new faces and so many old ones as well,” she continued. Her voice showed her age, proper and wise, but was genuine and comforting in a way that was familiar; motherly almost. She smiled at each house individually. “I know that we are all hungry, but I would like to say a few things about how this year will go.” Huh, he must’ve talked through the whole sorting ceremony. Oops. Actually, now that he thinks about it, that might’ve been what Jaemin was glaring at him for, and not for tormenting Jisung. Or both. Yeah, probably both.

Donghyuck turned his attention back to the headmistress, “Those of you who have been here before, welcome back. Those of you who have just been sorted, welcome. Now this year is going to be set up a bit different than the previous years.” A ripple of whispers and questions went through the sea of students at the tables. Donghyuck was curious too. What could they have changed?

“Settle down, settle down,” she cleared her throat, “Thank you. To start, we have decided that this year we will be having a few more, how shall I put it, social events this year. The first addition to the this year's usual schedule will be a Christmas Ball." Murmurs spread through the room, as well as excited giggling from a group of girls at the end of the Slytherin table. "You have Professor Flitwick to thank for that one. It took a lot of persuasion and nagging on Professor Flitwick's end, but your professors and I have concluded that it would be a great way to further not only social interaction but also, to hopefully, present another chance for you all to make some fond memories here at Hogwarts. It won’t affect your Christmas break or anything, so don't worry about that, we just thought it would be fun for you kids, and it'd be better than having an extra day of classes where no one’s really paying attention, anyway." She peered at each table over her spectacles, checking to make sure she still had everyone's attention. "However, we are still at school and at schools, there must be rules. And I know this may not seem fair, but for age appropriateness, the ball is only open to fourth years and above." An angry rumble went through the crowd of students. "However," she tried to continue over the noise in the great hall, but to no avail. "Quiet!!!," a voice boomed loudly through the hall, and everyone instantly quieted at the word. "Thank you, Hagrid." She turned her attention back to the students. "However," she continued, "if someone of that age invites you to go with him or her, then you may attend with them if you wish."

"Now!," she said loudly. If anyone was asleep, they wouldn't be anymore. "With that out of the way, I would like to address a more important change in this year's scheduling. It may not be as fun as a ball, but your professors and I believe it to be just as important, if not more. In previous years you have only ever been in classes with those in your year. It is wonderful if you have made a close friend in said year, but we think it’s time to branch out a little. Show what it'd like to be in an environment with people of all ages, because you won't always be able to work with someone your close to or close in age too. This year you will be combining years for certain electives. Your main courses will be strictly your between people in your year because of skill levels and tests, but classes such as Astronomy, Divination and so on will be, what do you call it nowadays, fair game.” She punctuated her sentence by adjusting her glasses.

Students were back to animatedly discussing what they thought of this with their peers. Some people were obviously annoyed by the change, some were excited, and some were indifferent. The whole thing about the Dance was nothing new really, people had been petitioning for an annual dance since he was a first year, and most students knew that Flitwick fancied a good ball every now and then, anyway. So it didn't really rank high on Donghyuck's "whoah!!... what!?" scale. But... combined classes? Donghyuck honestly didn’t know what to think about that. He only had one thing really going through his head at the moment, and it was laced with the underlying feeling of dread. He wasn’t given that much time to ponder over his feelings though, for McGonagall had started talking again.

“Now, now, ladies and gentlemen, I’m not quite finished. There are a few additional notes I'd like to add. The seventh years won’t be having combined classes because of the O.W.L assessment that they are required to take this year, and excluding seventh years, this means the years can be paired off evenly. So, because I know you’re all dying to know how the years will be paired off by, we have come up with a system of two’s: first and second years, third and fourth years, and... " Donghyuck tightened his grip on the table as a mantra of Don't say it, Don't say it, Don't say it, Don't say it, played through his head. "Fifth and sixth years (Damn, she said it). And finally, before we can officially start our feast I would like to personally go over some key rules myself…” 

That’s when Donghyuck stopped listening. Fifth and sixth years? Combined classes? He felt his entire body freeze up. The cold, dread that had only been the product of an irrational fear slowly turned itself into a white, hot panic. Despite his hand becoming slippery with sweat and his hair undoubtedly turning an alarming shade of yellow, he found himself directing his gaze to the Gryffindor table, searching for a lanky figure. This was the first time he had deliberately found himself looking for Mark in years, so he was kind of surprised to find the older boy already looking at him. Donghyuck froze once again when their eyes met and he remained frozen as they held eye contact for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 seconds… and then Donghyuck attention was redirected as Jaemin knocked into him. He looked down at the silver plate in front of him as he felt his cheeks, ears, and hair go what could only be described as firecracker red. He's never gone through emotions this quickly before and it was starting to make him dizzy. Against his better judgment, he looked back up at the Gryffindor table only to find that Mark wasn’t even looking at him anymore, but rather at the headmistress. The way Mark sat suggested that he had been looking at her the whole time. And maybe he had, maybe Donghyuck had just imagined the little staring contest between them. Wouldn’t be the first time. Donghyuck has always been pathetically desperate when it came to Mark. Besides what are the odds that Donghyuck'll have more than, like, one class with the guy. If one things for certain, being in the same class as Mark Lee, isn't. Donghyuck sighed and shifted his attention back to the headmistress once again.

“But enough with rules,” she was saying, “I’m sure you’re all starving now, so without further ado, let the feast… Begin!!” She waved her arms and food appeared on all the platters in front of them. Donghyuck suddenly remembered how hungry he was, all traces of panic and embarrassment gone once he got his hands on some the treacle tart that the house elves had so graciously prepared for them. Donghyuck is happy to say that over the course of talking, eating, and jumping ten feet out of his skin when the Bloody Barron's chubby head popped out of nowhere, Donghyuck had forgotten about everything Mark related.

Donghyuck had a content smile on his face as he made his way to the Slytherin dorm, hair a much more mellow yellow now than earlier. He threw on his pj's and sighed as his back hit the old mattress that was officially his for the remainder of the year. Donghyuck was finally home again, and more than excited to get his schedule tomorrow, despite the possibility that he will have to talk to Mark again after years of avoiding him. That night he went to sleep with a full stomach and a giddy grin on his face, anticipating what tomorrow would bring.

It’s good to be back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another Chapter Done;)
> 
> Please leave a comment and kudos if it was good, I'd love to know. Thank you!!!!!!!!


	3. Of Memories and More Problems

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The third part finally!!!!!!!!
> 
> I apologize for the wait, but I'm glad to let you know the reason why is that I am working on another AU, so look forward to that. I double checked for grammar, but if I missed anything, I'm sorry. It also gets a little sad in the middle(Don't know how that happened), but nothing too bad.
> 
> Lastly, Enjoy!!!!!!!!!<3

“Dude, if you glare at it any harder, you’ll burn a hole right through it.”

Mark sighed as he let the arm that was holding the remembrall fall so it rested upon his knee. He knew his friend was right, staring at it won’t give him the answers or reassurances he wanted. Rememberall’s were made to help you remember things you’ve forgotten, but Mark didn’t need to remember anything. The glass object was more of an anchor; a reassurance that made him feel better about the turn of events that took place at the Start of the Year Feast earlier that evening. 

Holding the object makes him feel like he actually had his head wrapped around all the new changes that were happening that year, including what they may entail when he obviously did not. To be honest, the changes made him anxious. 

The anxiety only heightened his insecurities and put giant arrows pointing towards all the things that could go wrong during the new schedule. Mark was more worried about how he was going to interact with people in the combined classes than anything. Especially how he was going to interact with a certain fifth year Slytherin. To say that Mark was paranoid was an understatement. 

When McGonagall had announced that fifth and sixth years would now have combined classes together his head immediately snapped in the direction of the Slytherin table, attempting to scope out a certain tan boy. Now Mark has done his best to forget about Donghyuck, but he just can’t help it. He’s caught himself staring at the boy from the other side of the Great Hall far to often and far too long before managing to redirect his attention to something else. Whenever he sees the other boy in the hall he immediately turns around and heads the other way. And he’s always been good at controlling the urge to talk to the other, but when the boy kindly smiles at him in the hall, no matter how faint it is, he has to stop for a moment, because Donghyuck still cares about him enough to acknowledge his presence. Still cares enough about him, to make sure that Mark knows that, and Mark's heart drops into his stomach every time he does. 

You may think of Mark as a coward, but he’s not avoiding Donghyuck because he’s afraid to talk to him. He’s avoiding Donghyuck because he doesn’t deserve to be Donghyuck’s friend. Mark had let himself get caught up with school and activities, and neglected his responsibility to return Donghyuck’s letters. Mark had realized he’d broken his promise when the letters stopped coming. He never sent an owl back to reinitiate the long-distance relationship because he had a feeling there was no fixing his mistake. Not by owl anyway. He had one job, and he’d failed. He’d never been more disappointed with himself in his life.

And Mark would never admit it out loud, but he missed his best friend. He misses the sassy comments and know it all attitude. He misses how Donghyuck showed his affection through touch: hand-holding, hugs, and the cheeky kisses he gave, loud and wet, just to annoy Mark. He misses the constant teasing. He misses how his hair would turn red when and embarrassed or green when he ate something he didn't like. But above everything, he misses the way that Donghyuck was always there when he needed him to be. 

Mark found that no matter how close he got to other people he could never give them the title as his best friend. It just didn’t feel right. No one could fill the gap that was left when he and Donghyuck stopped talking. Because at the end of the day, no one understood him the way that Donghyuck had understood him. No one cared about him the way that Donghyuck had cared about him. And most importantly, no one else was Donghyuck. No one could ever top his best friend. No one could replace him.

The regret and disappointment Mark felt directed towards himself at his failed friendship was the cause of all the questions swimming through his head. If he was in the same class as Donghyuck would they talk? Should Mark talk to him? Should Mark ignore him? Should he apologize? However, the one question that drove him to this closed-off state, lost in thought was: Should he try and fix their relationship? Should he try and get his best friend back? 

Mark didn’t know what to do. He doesn’t even know if he’ll have classes with Donghyuck, yet, so it was stupid of him to worry so much. He looked back down at the remembrall he was holding and noticed that his knuckles had turned white from how hard he’d been holding it. He switched it to his other hand. Mark gently shook the small object, watching as red smoke started to fill the small glass orb. Nothing else happened. He shook it again, hoping it would give him the answer to at least one of his questions. Nothing.

He remembered Lucas saying something about how the remembrall kind of worked as a reverse Magic 8 Ball. Mark didn’t really know what a Magic 8 Ball was, but Lucas had said that “Instead of forcing you to think harder about what the answer to your question could be, a Magic 8 Ball actually gives you the answer to your question, you know?” Mark didn’t know, still doesn’t, but, oh, how he wished he did. Maybe then he’d finally get an answer he wanted.

He glanced tentatively at the object in his hand again and shook it one last time. But just like last time nothing happened. There were no words, no symbols, no clues, no weird whispered answers from unknown sources like in fantasy books; just plain red smoke.

Mark huffed, finally turning his gaze to his friend, who Mark’s pretty sure has been trying to get his attention for the last ten minutes, only to be met with a knowing, yet slightly annoyed expression. If Mark didn’t know better, he’d say that it was almost patronizing, but he knew that Jeno only looked that way because he’d switched out his usual smile for a more serious gaze to match the current mood in the common room. Jeno was, in reality, super kind, and had a permanent soft spot for everyone he’s met. The boy couldn’t hurt a fly even if he tried. (It’s also the reason why he plays the only position on the Quidditch team that doesn’t involve pushing people around). And even though Mark knew that Jeno was more worried than amused about his current mental state, he couldn’t find it in himself to hold the other’s gaze. Instead, he turned his attention towards the fireplace that sat in the center of the Gryffindor common room, watching flames dance furiously upon the wooden logs that had been placed into the pit earlier that day. 

“Mark.” He definitely heard it that time.

“I know,” Mark said dejectedly, finally acknowledging the fact that someone was talking to him. Mark heard Jeno sigh from where he had taken up residence on one of the plush armchairs that had been strategically placed around the fire. 

“And you know I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s wrong?” 

“I know,” Mark said again, this time with a bit of venom in his words. You can’t blame him, he’s frustrated. And slightly annoyed that he can’t sulk in peace. He threw his head over the back of the couch, smacking it against the furniture's wooden frame in the process. Instead of answering his friend and trying to fix his problems like a responsible person, Mark decides to turn his attention to the ceiling, glaring at one of the steel chandeliers. He’s pretty sure Jeno already knew what was wrong, and just wanted Mark to confirm his suspicions. But Mark was embarrassed to admit that the cause of his worry was unreasonable.

Mark heard movement before he felt the other end of the couch dip. He knew Jeno moved closer so it was easier for them to talk, but was also making sure to keep enough distance between them as to give Mark enough room to breathe. Mark also assumed Jeno didn’t want to get hit. 

Mark would never intentionally hurt his friends, but he had the habit of talking not only with his mouth but also with his hands, and when he’s frustrated he becomes a safety hazard to everyone within a three-foot radius of him because of a lack of limb control. Lucas found that out the hard way when Mark accidentally poked him in the eye when they were engaged in a heated conversation as to who the worst teacher was. Mark had been trying to explain to Lucas that just because you’re the only one who didn’t understand something in a certain class, doesn’t make the teacher a bad teacher, it just means that you have to pay attention in class more. Mark had gotten tired of repeating himself, and thrown his hands up to run his fingers through his hair(possibly rip it out), and on their way up he, well, you know. 

It was quiet until Jeno spoke again, “Is this about that Slytherin boy, again. If it is Mark you don’t have to be afraid to tell me why he’s so important to you.” 'F you Lee Jeno, you’re not supposed to know me so well,' Mark thought bitterly.

Mark’s known Jeno since second year. Jeno had just been sorted into Gryffindor and didn’t know where to sit, so he just stood there, looking around the hall timidly. The poor boy had looked so awkward that Mark had taken pity on him, and offered him a seat so he wasn’t just standing there. The relief on Jeno’s face had given Mark enough confidence to talk to the boy, and become his friend; despite the fact that Jeno was a year below him. Lucas became Jeno’s friend by default because he was friends with Mark. Mark was glad he’d befriended Jeno because of how much attention he paid to details, and how perfectly he fit the role as the voice of reason ( cause oif Mark was being honest, between Lucas and himself, there really isn't that much you can rely on, if you know what I mean).

However, when it came to things that Mark wanted to keep to himself, it was a pain to have someone like Jeno around, because he didn’t miss anything. Jeno wouldn’t even know of Mark having any relations to Donghyuck if he hadn’t caught Mark staring at him. Jeno had been staring at the Slytherin table as well (Mark still doesn’t know why) and had caught Mark’s gaze and asked him about. Mark had just waved him off.

From then on there was a recurring theme of Jeno asking who Donghyuck was, and Mark telling him it wasn’t important. He could tell that it wasn’t just Jeno either. Mark knew Lucas suspected something was up but was too dense, bless him, to figure out what. It’s the thought that counts anyway. Besides, one can only keep a secret from those closest to them for so long. 

Mark turned to look Jeno in the eyes before saying,” His name is Lee Donghyuck, and he’s my best friend. Or he used to be.” Mark didn’t know why, but saying it out loud made it even more real than before, made it hurt even more than it had. 

He could tell Jeno was surprised by his confession by the way his eyes widened. Mark could also see slight confusion settle in with the surprise, so Mark already had an answer ready when Jeno asked, “What do you mean was?” He’d said it softly like he knew it was a sensitive topic.

Mark took a deep breath, “Before school we were neighbors, and our parents were best friends, so we knew each other since birth. There weren’t any other kids in our neighborhood, so all we had was each other. We did everything together, and I mean everything. But… the year before I started school, you know he’s in your year, I.. ah… I moved. I made him one promise. One. And that was to make sure I kept in contact with him. So I did, quite frequently actually, until school started.” Mark was starting to get worked up, but he knew Jeno didn’t want to interrupt lest Mark decided he was going to close himself off again, so Mark continued, only faster. “I completely forgot, or just didn’t care, or… or something! I never wrote back! I just watched the letters pile up and never read them and … and for some dumb reason I hadn’t realized until the letters stopped coming. That’s when I knew I screwed up beyond repair. I haven’t talked to him since.” 

Mark slowed his breathing, taking in everything right along with Jeno. His eyes stung. Mark doesn’t understand what his issue was. He was a good student, a good person, a good prefect, a good son, and a good quidditch player, yet when it came to people, it's like he suddenly doesn’t know how the world works.

When he could finally open his eyes again without the risk of a torrential downpour, he looked back at Jeno. Mark was surprised by what he saw. There was no disappointment or pity in Jeno’s eyes, and despite there being a little sadness, they were full of happiness and… something else Mark couldn’t name. It was almost knowing, like Jeno knew something Mark didn’t. Weird.

“Mark, why didn’t you tell me sooner, I could’ve helped.” Mark knows he could’ve, and to be honest Mark didn’t know why he didn’t tell his friend sooner. He guesses he just didn’t want to be a burden. But now that he has told someone he feels like a weight has been lifted off of his shoulders. Like he can finally face his problem head-on instead of swerving around it. Mark was about to respond but-

“Hey, man, sorry to interrupt, but you know you could’ve told me too, you know, I’m always here for you buddy. Also if you’re done with my remembrall, can I have it back? Mum would kill me if I lost it, and the irony of that situation would not be cool.”

Mark jumped and made an unmanly squeak that he’d deny he made later. Lucas shushed him quietly. He’d forgotten that Lucas had been sitting on the other couch with them the whole night. Which means Lucas had been listening to everything Mark had just said. It’s great to know that Lucas will always be there to support him, but he wished that he could’ve let Mark know in a less surprising way. 

Mark was about to respond but was stopped by Lucas putting a finger against his lips and pointing down at a figure that was laying on his lap. Mark did that silent “O” thing with his mouth to show he understood. The person laying on Lucas’ lap was Kim Jungwoo: seventh year, Head Boy, and Lucas’ boyfriend. 

Mark’s known Lucas since the very first day of school. Lucas was in his year, unlike Jeno, and, like most students at Hogwarts, they’d met on the Hogwarts Express, forced together by the lack of seats in the compartments. Mark had expected to spend the entirety of the trip to Hogwarts alone, but just before the train had been about to leave the station the door to his compartment got thrown open and an eleven-year-old Lucas had stood there in all his glory. 

At the time the boy had been panting, a nervous expression on his face, and his jumper inside out and backwards. Mark remembered how stunned he’d been that he’d missed the fact that the other boy had been asking if he could sit with him. Mark had nodded dumbly after he’d processed what the other boy had asked him. He’d found out sooner than later that Lucas had a contagious laugh and grin, was funny, loud, very expressive, and a little weird, but Mark wouldn’t change his friend for the world.

Fast forward to fourth year, they’re friends with Jeno, and Lucas finally has enough nerve to ask Jungwoo to be his boyfriend. The two of them are cute together, even though their very different. Lucas was loud and energetic while Jungwoo was more quiet and reserved, but it worked for them, and they became the “it” couple of Gryffindor house. Mark often found himself smiling at the two love birds. Which he was currently doing.

The scene of Jungwoo snuggling closer to Lucas at Mark’s loud noise was too domestic and cute not to smile at. You can’t blame Mark for squealing like a little girl on the inside at the couple. He’s only human after all.

Mark lifted the remembrall and whispered, “I’ll toss it to you.” Lucas nodded. Mark tossed it underhand at Lucas, who caught it, then saluted Mark before going back to running his fingers through Jungwoo’s hair.

Mark smiled, shaking his head fondly at the couple before turning his attention back to Jeno. “You okay?” Mark nodded. He was okay for the most part. “Good,” Jeno said, then smiled softly, “Do you mind me asking why you never… reached out to him?”

“I didn’t try to talk to him again because what I did couldn’t be forgiven over a letter, I literally forgot about him, Jeno. I thought about talking to him after he got sorted, but then I thought it would be better if he made other friends, you know. Better friends.” There it was again, the stinging of the eyes.

“You are a good friend, Mark,” Jeno said, “And I know you could fix this easily if you really wanted to, but it doesn’t explain why you were so bent out of shape tonight. So what else is it?”

Mark bit his lip nervously before he said, “Well the combined classes… what would I say to him if we’re put together? Like what should I do.”

Jeno shook his head at him, a small smile playing on his lips. “You could try being his friend again.”

Mark’s sure he looked panicked because Jeno just sighed and said, “ At least think about it, yeah?” Mark nodded, yeah he could do that. Think about it, that is. "For now though,” Jeno said, “I think we should go to sleep.” 

Mark nodded (he’s done a lot of that in the last few minutes) and got up and cracked his back. Mark patted Lucas on his shoulder and mumbled quick a goodnight before heading towards the stairs. He made it halfway to the boys' dormitory before he heard Jeno calling for him. Mark turned around to give his friend a questioning gaze. 

“Don’t overthink it too much, yeah,” Jeno said, “ I mean, what are the odds that you’ll get more than, like, one class with him at most, anyway, right?” Then Jeno smiled that eye-smile of his, and Mark felt, for the first time that night at ease. Jeno’s right, like he usually is, that he was being stupid worrying himself sick over something that may never happen. Mark felt himself smiling back, and he caught himself smiling all the way up to the boys' dormitory. 

Cause, honestly, how great could the chances of him getting more than one class with Donghyuck really be?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, thank you for reading. Please feel free to comment if you like, but make sure it's nothing too inappropriate. I appreciate you guys waiting for the next part.


	4. Of Tea Leaves and Awkward Encounters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!!!
> 
> Sorry, it took so long, I am really inconsistent. However I have gone back and changed a few things in previous chapters, so they are much, MUCH better now. For the rest of the story to make sense, please go and reread them. This chapter I have not fully edited, but I don't want to delay its postage, so read it now and come back in a week and read it again. And again, thank you for waiting;)

‘Seriously’ That was the first thing that popped into Mark’s head when he walks into the divination room.

He and Jeno had the first class of the day together, but because of Mark’s inability to get up in the morning, he was already gone when Mark went down to the great hall to meet him for breakfast. However, this isn’t the reason why he was so annoyed at the moment. Mark was annoyed because it seems that Jeno had given up his seat to some Slytherin boy that Mark hasn’t ever seen before. When his eyes met Jeno’s the boy just shrugged, not even the tiniest bit apologetic. Asshole. 

This leaves Mark to awkwardly stand in the middle of the room to scope out a seat. There appears to only be one table with open seats, curse his sleeping habits, occupied by a Slytherin girl who had her face pressed into a book. Mark silently made his over to the table and sat on cushion next to the girl, who seemed to either not notice his presence or just didn’t care. ‘Great’ he thought and sighed to himself, pushing his hair out of his face. 

Mark busied himself by examining the other students, looking for one particular tan male among the faces. As it got closer to the start of class Mark’s nerves started to settle. It turns out he won’t have this class with Donghyuck after all. At least that’s what he thought.

One minute, literally one FREAKIN minute before class started, Donghyuck come barreling through the door face flushed and panting slightly as if he had run all the way to class, which he probably did. His robes were falling off his shoulder, and his hair was a silvery, grey with a bit of green in it. They were his house colors, but something told Mark that it was unintentional. Donghyuck’s eyes flit around the room quickly, looking for a place to sit before his eyes settled on Mark’s table. Mark quickly picked up his divination book and stared at it like he had been reading it the whole time, like he hadn’t been blatantly staring.

Mark’s heartbeat started to pick up as Donghyuck made his way over to Mark’s table. Was it just him or did everything around start to go in slow motion? Donghyuck sat down quietly, getting his supplies out, giving Mark a small nod of acknowledgment. Mark gulped. Shit. He found himself wondering why Donghyuck was willingly sitting with him of all people, only to realize the only seat left was the one across from him. Hopefully, these seats aren’t permanent. A bang made Mark jump about ten feet out of his skin as he redirected his gaze to the front of the classroom. 

“Hello, children,” Professor Trewalney said in her spacey, far-away voice. “Today, we will be focusing on the art of Tea Leaf Reading. We’ve done this before, I know, but in this class, we never stop expanding our minds and souls. To do anything properly, we must perfect the reading of Tea Leaves.” She said all this with her arms raised dramatically and dropped to punctuate the end of her statement. Her big bug eyes flew around the room, taking in all the students quickly, and almost crazily.

“Now, children, I want you to take a good look at who you're sitting across from.” She said this walking around the room slowly, hand in front of her torso in an almost scared way. Mark’s eyes flitted up to Donghyuck’s briefly only to look away just as fast. Fuck. “Take a look, take a look, take a look,” she said, “we know who they are? Good? These will be your parents for the remainder of the School year. How lovely, yes?” Double fuck. Mark didn’t want to be partners with Donghyuck for the rest of the year. Forget being a Gryffindor, Mark wanted to hide. 

After Professor Trewalney gave a brief review of how to do tea leaf reading, Mark robotically drank his tea, which was too hot to drink, and swished around the dreads in his cup lazily. Now he had to discuss the results with his partner. He looked over at the Slytherin girl quickly, hoping for an out, only to find her asleep on her book. Great. He looked up at Donghyuck for the third time that day, to see him already looking up at him. 

“Okay-,” Donghyuck said at the same time Mark said, “So-.” They both looked away embarrassed, Mark played with his hair before clearing his throat. “So, it looks like we’re partners.” Mark wanted to hit himself. ‘Why are you so freaking awkward’ he thought. 

“Yeah, it appears so.” Mark’s head snaps to attention at Donghyuck’s response. He hasn’t heard his voice in so long. It was high pitched for a male, but not in a bad way, it was unique, Mark liked it. However, Mark couldn’t overlook the fact the boy was being shy and closed off with him, and it was no one's fault but his own. 

They sat there, staring at each other and for the first time in seven years, Mark was actually able to really look at Donghyuck. He’d grown a lot since Mark had last had a full conversation with him, he was way taller now, almost as tall as Mark, and had last almost all his baby fat except for a slight chub on his cheeks, leaving his jaw and neck defined. His skin was slightly tanner too if that was even possible, and his hair looked soft and silky like something Mark would want to run his hand’s through. His eyes were big and doe-like and his long eyelashes fanned over his cheeks gently. His eyes were a fiery amber color, the only thing that showed any semblance to the kid he knew. And… was that makeup he was wearing. Mark didn’t know Donghyuck wore makeup, but for some reason, Mark thought it suited him, a lot actually. 

Mark’s gaze lowered to the boy’s lip, which too, looked soft. He stared at them for a while until he registered that they were moving. “... ark. Mark. Mark!”

And just like that, the spell was broken, “What? S- sorry!” he said it too loud and panic-y and mentally face palmed at his own stupidity. 

 

Donghyuck looked at him timidly and said, “I need your cup to finish the assignment.” Right!

“Oh, uh, h-here you go,” he said hurriedly, almost dropping his cup in the process. His face must have been the color of a tomato by how hard he was blushing. And, it was probably just his imagination, but it looked like Donghyuck had smiled at him. No. He was just desperate for Donghyuck to show any signs that he actually wanted anything to do with him. Which he obviously doesn’t. Mark knows he wouldn’t. 

The rest of the class goes by in silence. Donghyucks hasn’t said anything to him since asking for his cup and was quietly taking notes on a piece of parchment. Mark couldn’t blame him, he wouldn’t want to talk to himself either. When the class period was over, Mark bolted. He honestly doesn’t think he’s ever walked out of a place so fast. 

Only when Mark had made his way down all the steps and into an open hall filled with a bunch of rowdy students did he stop to breathe. It was only the first day, and Mark already new that he was doomed. He sluggishly moved onto his next class praying to every deity he knows that he won’t see Donghyuck again that day. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donghyuck sat in the Slytherin common room staring blankly at his Potions essay, too focused on the confusing, swampy place that was his brain. Donghyuck had already been having a bad day before he found out he had a class with Mark that morning. He had slept in, fought with his tie, forgotten his things, missed breakfast, and had to run all the way to the Divination room, so when he got up there he was not only hungry but also sweaty.

He had originally intended to sit with Jaemin, and also yell at him for abandoning, only to see he had been forgotten by the boy in favor of sitting with Jeno. What a friend. And then to Donghyuck’s absolute horror the only seat in the room left was the one right across from the one person he didn’t want to see that day. Mark Lee.

When Donghyuck had to talk to him it was the most uncomfortable thing ever. The one person that he had felt he could do anything with was now a complete stranger to him, and it didn’t set right in his gut. It felt wrong and left a sour taste in his mouth. 

Not to mention he looked like a completely different person, like, what the hell. His eyes were black and the only thing that held any sense of familiarity, because besides the eyes he had looked into so many times, he felt like he was looking at a different person. He was tall, taller than Donghyuck anyway and he no longer had that messy black hair that always got in his eyes, but instead had changed it to a blondish- brown color, and cut to fit his age. And don’t even get Donghyuck started on his face. He still looked the same, only older. His features were more defined revealing high cheekbones and an Adam's apple you really couldn’t see before. It made Donghyuck feel a certain way, a way he wouldn’t actually admit out loud and he hated it.

He was supposed to make friends with Mark, be his partner, be a civil student, but every time he looks at Mark Donghyuck feels a whole mix of emotions but mainly sad. Because his best friend is right in front of him, but so far away.

When Divination was finally over, he thought he was free from Mark for the rest of the day. He was sadly mistaken. He also ended up having Astronomy and Care of Magical Creatures with him. It was like he couldn’t get away. What had he ever done to the universe to deserve this?

Donghyuck was shaken out of his stupor when Jaemin sat down heavily beside him. He looked at the boy in question to see a huge smile on his face. “What are you so happy about?” he said it harsher than intended, but he didn’t think anybody should be so happy right now. He wasn’t.

“Jeez, who put a stick up your ass?” Donghyuck glared Jaemin for a moment before sighing and leaning back in his chair. Time to pretend nothing was wrong. “So, was ditching me to sit with Jeno worth it?” he asked with a slight smirk. It was more forced than usual, but it did the trick.

Jaemin’s face immediately turned the color of a cherry. Bingo. “Shut up!!”

Donghyuck laughed at him, a real laugh, and he could actually feel his shoulder become less tense when he did. “What!? It obviously important because you not only forget to wake me up this morning, but you also ditched me in Divination.”

“Aw, is someone feeling neglected?” he asked in a baby voice causing Donghyuck to wrinkle his nose at him. “What!? No!!” Jaemin hummed like he didn’t believe him before adding, “And if you must know it was very important… he’s just so cute!” Donghyuck could already tell he was losing him but didn’t care too much. He thought about telling Jaemin why he minded not sitting with him so much but thought better of it.

“Why do you care so much anyway?” Jaemin asked once he stopped daydreaming about Jeno. Donghyuck turned his gaze away from Jaemin and to his unwritten essay. 

 

“It’s nothing,” he said before sighing. He gestured towards his paper before saying, “This essay won’t write itself.” Jaemin groaned at the mention of work, and Donghyuck finally started writing. For now, Mark is out of sight, and out of mind, but Donghyuck feels that won’t last very long, so he’ll enjoy it while he can.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another Chapter Done;)
> 
> Please leave a comment and kudos if it was good, I'd love to know. Thank you!!!!!!!!


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